government
HHS releases money for insurance rate reviews
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 14, 2010
The Dept. of Health and Human Services is providing $250 million in grants to help states improve their health insurance rate review processes, according to a June 7 announcement by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The Health Insurance Premium Review Grants are made possible by a provision in the health reform law, which also establishes greater oversight of health insurance premium increases and demands justification for large hikes. The grants will help states that do not review insurance rates to begin doing so and help those that already do it to improve their processes, said Jay Angoff, director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
To receive a grant, a state must submit plans to develop or enhance its process of reviewing health insurance premium requests. HHS will provide each state a $1 million grant during the first round of $51 million in funding. The remaining funds will be distributed within five years.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/06/14/gvbf0614.htm.
